BREAKING ON “MORNING JOE” – MARK HALPERIN NAMED MSNBC SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: “Mark Halperin, editor-at-large and senior political analyst for TIME, has been named senior political analyst for MSNBC. The announcement was made today by Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC, and is effective immediately. Halperin has been a frequent guest and analyst on ‘Morning Joe’ since 2008. He will continue to contribute to ‘Morning Joe’ … and will appear on additional MSNBC programs. Halperin continues as editor-at-large and senior political analyst for TIME covering politics, elections and government for the magazine and TIME.com. … Prior to joining TIME in April 2007, Halperin worked at ABC News for nearly 20 years, where he covered five presidential elections and served as political director from November 1997 to April 2007. … He is the co-author of … ‘Game Change’ … and co-author of ‘The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008’ … Halperin received his B.A. from Harvard University and resides in New York City with Karen Avrich.”

SURPRISE TRIP – AP: “Attorney General Eric Holder is in Kabul for talks with Afghan officials, the Justice Department says. Holder's agenda during his brief visit includes discussions on ways to build relationships between law enforcement agencies and prosecutors in the two countries.”

“LARRY KING, who has interviewed presidents and Hollywood royalty on CNN for a quarter of a century, said he will end his nightly talk show to spend more time with his wife and children. ‘Larry King Live’ which has suffered from shrinking viewership, will sign off in the fourth quarter, the 76-year-old host said yesterday in a statement posted on CNN's website. … King, whose first guest was New York Governor Mario Cuomo, plans to appear in CNN specials on national and international affairs. … ‘With this chapter closing, I'm looking forward to the future and what my next chapter will bring, but for now it's time to hang up my nightly suspenders,’ King said.” --Bloomberg

USAID FORMS POLICY SHOP – A top official e-mails: “Stan McChrystal’s exit from Afghanistan not only affects military personnel, but is an opportunity for the civilian side of the equation -- which has not gotten nearly the credit it deserves for its many successes on the ground, despite of the shenanigans at the top of the Kabul food chain -- to shift around some. USAID Administrator Raj Shah is ramping up his in-house expertise on Afghanistan and Pakistan with the additions of Alex Thier, Kay McGowan and Craig Mullaney. Thier, who is widely recognized as a leading thinker on Afghanistan policy, comes from [the United States Institute of Peace] to head up a new policy shop at AID. McGowan is being seconded from State and was a key player on Zal Khalilzad's team in Kabul. Mullaney, a former Army Ranger and Rhodes scholar, joins Shah's team from the Office of the Secretary of Defense.”

Good Wednesday morning. IN A BARTON-STYLE BARRAGE, DEMS MAKE HAY FROM A JOHN BOEHNER INTERVIEW with the conservative Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: “Boehner criticized the financial regulatory overhaul compromise reached last week between House and Senate negotiators as an overreaction to the financial crisis that triggered the recession. … ‘This is killing an ant with a nuclear weapon,’ Boehner said. What's most needed is more transparency and better enforcement by regulators, he said.”

A top Dem emails: “Boehner called the financial crisis an ant????”

A DNC official e-mails: “[Y]ou can bet Boehner's comments will be heavily featured in DNC ads this fall.”

Interview http://bit.ly/d1PnwK DNC video http://bit.ly/a3kzk8 Boehner aide: ““If that’s the best the DNC can do then it’s a pretty sad state of affairs over at 430 South Capitol Street. It's clear Boehner was not minimizing the crisis America faced. He was simply pointing out that Democrats have produced a bill that will actually kill more jobs and make the situation worse.”

TOP TALKER – Daily Kos says it was duped by Research 2000 and may have published polls based on fake data generated by a randomizer: “I have just published a report by three statistics wizards showing, quite convincingly, that the weekly Research 2000 State of the Nation poll we ran the past year and a half was likely bunk. … We contracted with Research 2000 to conduct polling and to provide us with the results of their surveys. Based on the report of the statisticians, it's clear that we did not get what we paid for. We were defrauded by Research 2000, and while we don't know if some or all of the data was fabricated or manipulated beyond recognition, we know we can't trust it. Meanwhile, Research 2000 has refused to offer any explanation. … At one point, they claimed they couldn't deliver [the raw data] because their computers were down and they had to work out of a Kinkos office. Research 2000 was delivered a copy of the report early Monday morning, and though they quickly responded and promised a full response, once again the authors of the report heard nothing more. … I want to feel stupid for being defrauded, but fact is Research 2000 had a good reputation in political circles. … Soon, we'll have a new pollster (or pollsters) to work with … As for Research 2000, the lawyers will soon take over, as Daily Kos will be filing suit within the next day or two.” http://bit.ly/aEfxgW

BEHIND THE CURTAIN – “Boehner, Cantor not always on same page,” by John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman: “House Minority Whip Eric Cantor has asked the ethics committee to greenlight a national book tour this August for a new GOP manifesto he’s co-authoring with two younger members of Congress, according to sources familiar with the situation. This is classic Cantor: a hyperambitious move to publish and push ideas he thinks will help rebrand the GOP, on his terms — and not necessarily those of his boss, Minority Leader John Boehner. If this were an isolated incident, it would pass without a peep. But it’s not: Cantor is earning a reputation for pushing his ideas so hard and so often that some GOP colleagues are questioning his motives. Is he guided by a burning desire to help the party — or to boost himself? ‘Boehner is running 1994 all over again,’ a senior Republican lawmaker said, meaning Boehner wants to rely on a wave of voter anger with Democrats to ride into the majority. ‘Cantor and [California Rep. Kevin McCarthy] see it totally differently.’ McCarthy serves as Cantor’s top lieutenant in the whip organization and is one of the co-authors, along with Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), of Cantor’s new book, ‘Young Guns.’” http://bit.ly/aZxQqY

** A message from Intel: For decades, Intel has produced the world’s most advanced microprocessors right here in America—and is continuing that legacy with U.S. capital investments of $7 billion in ’09 and ’10. **

BIRTHDAYS: Kyle Plotkin, press secretary to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, is 7-2. No, just seems that way – that’s the number of day’s he’s been working on the spill. He’s actually 2-8. (hat tips: Frank Collins, Kendra Marr)

BOOKMARK – TNR’s Jonathan Cohn has a new blog on politics and policy, “Citizen Cohn.’ http://bit.ly/9Pw1fC

RIGHT TRACK/WRONG TRACK -- --LAT A1, “With federal stimulus funds running out, economic worries grow,” by Alana Semuels: “[T]he U.S. economy is in danger of stalling. Now one of its only reliable sources of fuel is running out: federal stimulus spending. … Funds flowing from the $787-billion legislation passed last year have helped create … jobs and propped … unemployment benefits. But with much of that money spent … concerns are rising about what will replace it.” http://bit.ly/a1Oo5U

WHITE HOUSE MINDMELD on Elena Kagan’s second of (likely) four days: “During her 10 hours of testimony, Elena Kagan was so clear and forthcoming that she removed any doubt about her ability to live up to the so-called ‘Kagan standard.’ She demonstrated a deep grasp of so many aspects of the law and shared her views about it where appropriate – on topics ranging from constitutional interpretation to antittrust to campaign finance. Republicans were unable to lay a glove on her despite their kitchen-sink attacks … Senator Cornyn said she had done a “good job of explaining from the witness chair how [she] would decide cases,’ and Senator Coburn called her ‘smart,’ ‘super’accomplished’ and ‘tough as nails.’ With so many questions asked and answered, look for some Republicans to hijack the hearing to score political points on unrelated topics as the week progresses.”

OLBERMANN’s graphic for the Kagan hearing is, “ROBE WARRIOR.”

MYTHBUSTING – Drudge’s banner is, “CAN THE GOV'T TELL YOU WHAT TO EAT?,” linking to a YouTube of an exchange between Kagan and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) in which he asks: “If I wanted to sponsor a bill and it said, ‘Americans, you have to eat three vegetables and three fruits EVERY day,’ and I got it through Congress and it’s now the law of the land -- got to do it! -- does that violate the Commerce Clause?” Coburn makes it clear he’s making an analogy to the individual mandate in health reform. Kagan begins by replying, “Sounds like a dumb law.” But she doesn’t say “no” – catnip for the right. POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein debunks a myth-in-the-making: “That portion of Kagan's noncommittal answer seemed to suggest that Congress had carte blanche to create a so-called nanny state that would regulate Americans' day-to-day lives. … While it's true that Kagan never definitively answered the question, the pair spent nearly 10 minutes discussing the issue. … Kagan indicated that laws that regulated non-economic activity, which presumably would include eating, were beyond Congress's Commerce Clause power.” Gerstein http://politi.co/boNIp7 YouTube http://bit.ly/cvkE8E

ALSO DRIVING THE CONVO, by Zachary Abrahamson:

--NYT A1, “The Roberts Court Comes of Age,” by Adam Liptak: “Judicial minimalism is gone, and the court has entered an assertive and sometimes unpredictable phase … That will only intensify with the retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens, a 35-year veteran of the court and the leader of its liberal wing, and his likely replacement by Elena Kagan.” http://nyti.ms/cbNEJx

--NYT A1, “Bet on Private Sector for Recovery Could Prove Risky,” by David Leonhardt: “[P]olicy makers are betting that the private sector can make up for the withdrawal of stimulus over the next couple of years. If they’re right, they will have made a head start on closing their enormous budget deficits. If they’re wrong, they may set off a vicious new cycle, in which public spending cuts weaken the world economy and beget new private spending cuts. … Longer term, though, it’s still impossible to know which prediction will turn out to be right.” http://nyti.ms/bSpTbB

--NYT A1, “Spill Is Election Issue Far Beyond Gulf,” by Damien Cave: “Republicans say the spill is a lesson in incompetence: the Obama administration has fumbled … Democrats in turn see the spill as a consequence of Republican ties to Big Oil and deregulation.” http://nyti.ms/dcCNAQ

--AP, “Petraeus leaves room for changes in Afghan pullout,” by Anne Gearan and Anne Flaherty: “Gen. David Petraeus left open the possibility of recommending that President Barack Obama delay his plans to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan next summer if the new commander can't turn around the stalemated war. … The Senate Armed Services Committee quickly approved Petraeus for the job of running the Afghan war, and the full Senate was expected to confirm him Wednesday.” http://bit.ly/bdi8T5

--WaPo A1, “Kagan makes a bipartisan appeal,” by Amy Goldstein and Alec MacGillis: “But she also suggested that a controversial requirement in the new federal health-care law that most Americans obtain insurance has a legal basis -- a question that is likely to come before the courts. … But at several points during the hearings, she played to conservatives. She said she has ‘the greatest admiration’ for Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the high court's most conservative members. She lauded as ‘a great lawyer and a great human being’ Miguel A. Estrada.” http://bit.ly/ddRola

RIGHT TRACK/ WRONG TRACK -- LAT A1, “With federal stimulus funds running out, economic worries grow,” by Alana Semuels: “[T]he U.S. economy is in danger of stalling. Now one of its only reliable sources of fuel is running out: federal stimulus spending. … Funds flowing from the $787-billion legislation passed last year have helped create … jobs and propped … unemployment benefits. But with much of that money spent … concerns are rising about what will replace it.” http://bit.ly/a1Oo5U

--LAT, “Obama renews immigration push,” by Peter Nicholas: “President Obama is making a renewed push for an immigration overhaul, possibly during a lame-duck session of Congress after the November election — when members would no longer face an imminent political risk for supporting it.” http://bit.ly/aIm9tW

--Bloomberg, “Alex Becomes First June Atlantic Hurricane Since 1995,” by Yee Kai Pin and Brian K. Sullivan: “The storm, with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour, was 255 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas, and heading west at 9 mph, according to a U.S. National Hurricane Center advisory posted just before 11 p.m. Miami time yesterday. … The storm’s track keeps it away from a direct hit on the oil slick from a damaged BP Plc well.” http://bit.ly/cKXSyX

--Bloomberg, “House to Try Second Time to Pass Unemployment-Aid Measure,” by Brian Faler: “The U.S. House plans to try again today to approve legislation extending unemployment benefits after a measure to do so was blocked yesterday because of its cost. … The bill would continue jobless aid through November.” http://bit.ly/ducS9C

--Reuters, “Obama to guarantee McChrystal a 4-star pension:” “McChrystal was sacked about a year after receiving his fourth star -- half the time normally necessary to qualify for a four-star general's retirement income of $12,475 per month, before taxes … ‘We will do whatever is necessary to ensure that he, somebody who has served the country as ably as he has, can retire at a four-star level,’ White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.” http://bit.ly/b93Wsv

BUSINESS BURST -- WSJ B1, “Wal-Mart Taps New Chief,” by Miguel Bustillo: “Bill Simon, who has been serving as chief operating officer for the U.S. stores, will immediately succeed Eduardo Castro-Wright, who had overseen American Wal-Mart stores for the past five years. … Analysts were split on whether the executive changes would lead to a strategic shift at Wal-Mart's U.S. division.” http://bit.ly/9dWMuf

--WSJ A1, “Fear of a Stall Hits Market,” by Jon Hilsenrath and Mark Whitehouse: “The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.6% back below 10000 on slumping U.S. consumer confidence, the downward revision of a Chinese economic indicator and worries about the health of Europe's banks. … A double-dip recession is still widely viewed as unlikely. But the drop in confidence is just the latest sign suggesting the economy could lose steam in the second half of 2010 and perhaps grow more slowly than in the first half.” http://bit.ly/cnYJmC

SPORTS BLINK: NYT B15, “South America Savors a Cup Full of Success,” by Jeffrey Marcus: “All five South American teams advanced to the knockout round. Four could reach the semifinals. … This tournament was to be Africa’s coming-out party in an event traditionally dominated by Europeans. But Ghana was the only one of the six African entries to qualify for the knockout round.” http://nyti.ms/cYphiX

** A message from Intel: For decades, Intel has been producing the world’s most advanced microprocessors—right here in America.

Approximately three-fourths of Intel microprocessor manufacturing is done here in the U.S., and investments by Intel have made it one of the top employers in both Arizona and New Mexico and Oregon's largest corporate employer. Seven of Intel's ten semiconductor factories are here in the U.S. – factories that are leading production of the next generation of microchips that will advance computing and communications and help enable the technological breakthroughs of tomorrow.

Intel sees ongoing investments in America—including $34 billion in capital expenditures over the past eight years—as critical not only to our company’s success, but to our country’s success: it’s what fuels America’s innovative spirit, and keeps it at the forefront of new technologies, new industries, and new ideas. **

Halperin: Ran Time into the ground. Read it since 16, am now 60. Cancelled my subscription when it failed to help vet this Pres. instead went into the tank. Never questioned ability, history, or circle of "friends". Let down American voters. (Although, those voters who chose to, learned about this man inspite of the MSM love affair with Obama).